The use of various wireless technologies has become widespread. Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), such as those using Bluetooth technology, provide mechanisms for wirelessly connecting peripheral devices and mobile devices over short distances. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) provide mechanisms for mobile devices to wireless connect to a network (e.g., a local area network (LAN)) over longer distances. Many WLAN systems are based on the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards. Additionally, many devices (e.g., wireless radios) may communicate using proprietary wireless protocols.
In many instances, a single user device may incorporate multiple wireless technologies. For example, Bluetooth technology may be used to couple a device to a headset, WLAN technology may be used to connect the device to a network (e.g., the Internet), and a proprietary wireless radio technology may be used to gather data from external sensors. One or more of these technologies may operate in the same or in interfering frequency bands. Thus, when these modules are included in the same device, many types of interference may occur. Additionally, the device may require the multiple wireless modules to share access to the same transmission and/or reception media (such as an antenna).
One technique used to enable coexistence of multiple components in a device is to separate the transmission of each in the frequency domain. However, these frequency division multiplexing techniques are not effective in small form factor devices. In these devices, the receivers become desensitized by strong signals in separate channels. Other techniques based on collaborative mechanisms such as described in IEEE 802.15.2-2002 Recommended Practice for Information Technology—Part 15.2: Coexistence of Wireless Personal Area Networks with Other Wireless Devices Operating in the Unlicensed Frequency Bands, are also used. However, these techniques primarily address coexistence between WLAN and BT devices not coexistence between WLAN and/or BT devices and devices using proprietary wireless protocols or other standards. Additionally, these collaborative techniques may introduce inefficiencies in transmission or require additional hardware resources.
Therefore, what is needed are systems and methods for efficiently arbitrating among multiple wireless components within a wireless device.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers can indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number may identify the drawing in which the reference number first appears.